Test Drive Meme 019

[voidtreckermods]

Welcome to the Test Drive Meme! Here is the place to see how your character might fit the setting, grab samples and have fun!

1. Post with your character, including their name and series in the subject. We’ve written out some prompts but feel free to make up your own, you have a whole train to play with!

2. Assume they've been around long enough for threads to jump right into the action.

3. Have lots of fun.

Happy testing!

Winter Wonderland

Experienced Voidtreckers will be the first to recognise when the announcement of a stop comes over the speakers: “Arriving at world 9126110 in ten, nine, eight…”

The doors don’t open, the train doesn’t stop. Instead, it slows, and the garden carriage opens its curved, clear roof as though it were a convertible, both sides folding back until the carriage is open to the air. The world is a picture of snow-covered mountains and sparse conifers, and within minutes the garden’s fountain and streams have iced over, soft snow coating the cobbles and benches.

The stop lasts all day, the vending machines dispense free hot chocolate, and the dressing carriage is filled with thick coats, wooly hats, and warm gloves.

Void Santa Is Coming To Town

It’s a day like any other, except that the morning announcement has a rider.

“There are packages in the luggage car for all passengers. Enjoy. ”

And indeed, it seems that something has visited during the night - the carriage at the back of the train is unusually neat, the piles of empty luggage stacked carefully near the back to make room for a huge array of wrapped objects. Void Santa, maybe? The difference between Void Santa and, say, one of the many Earth Santas or the Gyueran Spirit of Generosity, is that Void Santa doesn’t give you what you asked for.

It gives you something you wouldn’t have dared to ask for. That nerdy figurine that you eyed in the window of the store, the dress you weren’t brave enough to try on, the device you decided was too expensive. The poster of your favourite holostar, the latest risque novel from the local printworks… the list goes on.

You’ve got a present in here, better find it before someone else does!

Animal at Heart

Seibairen, world #671155003, is a world of dualities. Technologically advanced but also deeply mystical, its population is currently suffering under the rule of a nameless arcanist, a genius of artificial intelligence and magecraft who seeks to elevate her own mechanical brethren above their biological creators. Unfortunately, she is far too powerful to face directly.

Team One

The arcanist holding the world of Seibairen in thrall is particularly skilled with polymorph spells, and her first move as the Voidtreckers enter the conflict is to cast one over a wide area, transforming almost half of the force into various animals. The spell seems to be mildly incompatible with void-travellers, as those affected have turned into creatures from their homeworlds, if possible, rather than the local wildlife. The fight is still on, no time to panic!

… Or maybe some time to panic, it’s looking permanent for now. Still, the civilians need the Voidtreckers’ protection, animal or not, and it isn’t like they’ve lost any of their abilities.

Team Two

The monks of the deep peaks, trained in anti-magic combat and able to counter the arcanist and her forces, are the best hope for turning the tides. Unfortunately, their remote stronghold is blockaded the moment the Voidtreckers arrive, trapping them under a shield of pale metal and harsh light. There are several ways they and the unlucky early Voidtreckers might be freed: the power sources of the barrier, held in the centre of the arcanist’s camps, could be destroyed or sabotaged. Alternatively, the barrier could be overloaded or even broken from the inside by an ancient artefact held within the inner temple. The monks are able to guide the Voidtreckers through a telepathic metaconcert, but hurry, time is running out...

Team Three

A thaumatologist somewhere within the capital is rumoured to be able to reverse the arcanist’s strange spells, which would give the Voidtreckers a fighting chance against her directly. Several different people are claiming to be this thaumatologist, and they all have a list of ingredients they’ll need for the protective ritual and/or devices they’re offering.

At least one of them is sure to work, but there’s going to be some experimenting before that happens. Alternatively, force would find the correct researcher fairly quickly, but it would also attract attention.

Comments

[stopstaring]

[Every time he calls her that, a little flutter climbs right up her. It isn't an unpleasant one. No matter how often she hears it, it's still a little surreal to be faced with. Her son, of all people. Well, not just her son, obviously, but son enough that simply knowing him tells Olivia about a future she has yet to experience for herself.

She turns a pleasant shade of pink at his reassurances and after some moments, as much as she wants to continue this circle of protest and argument, she simply dips her head in a quiet, bashful fashion.

He puts her right on the spot like that and she has no idea what to do about it. She's never been good at a graceful evasion.]

I... I-I see...

[It's not the most graceful thing she could say. Olivia wishes she had something more, something better to give to him, but maybe that's just a natural, born motherly instinct in her.

She takes a moment to beckon for him to follow her as she kneels down to bunch up some snow. It's softer than she'd like it to be and not quite as ready for packing yet, but it'll do.]

Uhm. Did we do things like this when you were younger? [She shoots him a glance. Olivia's always been curious about the kind of woman she becomes, but that's a difficult question to ask.]

[stopstaring]

Well... No, I guess a chief isn't exactly the same, but you're still the leader. That's a difficult thing to do!

[Responsibility and influence over others. Olivia can't imagine what it'd be like to be in such a position.]

I've known a few different lords back home, so I have lots of respect for people with leadership qualities. It'd be hard to lead others, I think. You might think it's not much, but it sounds pretty impressive to me.

[stopstaring]

[She frowns in a subtle fashion as she thumbs at her chin.]

I don't really know anything about technology. [After a pause, she continues.] I don't know much about magic personally either, but! Well. I'm familiar with it. It's pretty prominent back home.

[Folding her hands together, she awkwardly fidgets, shifting her weight between her feet.]

What kinds of technology do you work with? Anything you can share with me?

No, no. Take your time. No worries at all.

[stopstaring]

[She fidgets. He notes it. Olivia fights not to fidget even more, which is a struggle for someone who seems to fidget nearly all of the time, regardless of how well she knows someone or doesn't.

Lifting her hands, she toys with some of the pink hair that falls over her shoulders. Maybe that's not as distracting. (But probably not.)]

Yes! [Nothing special. Just an Olivia.] S-sorry. I'm not real good with people. Or... much of anything, really. [Bashfully, she smiles.] If that doesn't bother you, maybe... y-you could tell me a little about where you're from? O-or yourself.

[Is that nosy of her? It's probably nosy of her.]

[constantvrunning]

[And this was right back into more rocky territory - though that's not Olivia's fault. V's expression neutralizes, though it can be mistaken for just being deep in thought.]

Security, by and large. Protecting people and what they value most. Automated machinery as well - drones work a bit like birds, and if you treat them right some people can keep them as pets.

And - [how to put this?] - self-aware machinery comes up often. Have you heard of magic bringing things to life?

[What sorts of uses of magic is Olivia familiar with?]

[10billionpercent]

Hard enough. [ He can agree with that, he wasn't really intending on it, but no point in crying about spilled milk. ]

It's not terribly easy, but I have a lot of people who support me and work with me, and that leads to more people supporting me. It's also very small community. I'm not sure I'd stand a test with a larger populace.

[flatteries]

Yes.

[ That's an easy question for him to answer, as Inigo too gets down on his knees. He uses big, sweeping motions with his hands to start to gather snow together in front of them, considering they'll need quite a lot of it if they want to make a snowman. ]

Or.. Well, we did a lot of things. [ Things Inigo is reminiscing about right now in his memories, if that expression on his face is anything to go by. Mostly just really happy, but with an edge of nostalgia to it. It's a time that has been long gone, after all. ] Playing games, dancing.. You showed me flowers.

[ He starts trying to pack some of the snow together, though - indeed - he's not having an easy time with it. The snow isn't really cooperating. ]

Maybe it's since I constantly tried to shyly cling to you, but you spoiled me so much.

[hotheadwarmheart]

[The staring starts to get slightly awkward after a moment, but Lea still smiles at her comment.]

Well that's the nice thing about gifts; you don't have to do anything to deserve one. Most of the time, someone gives them to you just because they want to.

bless..... 😔 thanks very much

[deferences]

[being fair, the only reason he's distracted by her fidgeting at that point is because she has pink hair. he's never seen someone with such a brilliant color before! white, blue, red; he's experienced all those on the train already but pink? that's a new one and he's enthralled.

(let's just nevermind the fact he's met a duck and they get clothes from an oversized spider, both of who speak!)

his head shakes dismissively, though not impolitely.] You have no reason to apologize, miss Olivia. Some people are more sociable than others and there's nothing wrong with that! [a moment's hesitation before he tacks on,] Surely there's something you're good at? Everybody has a talent, after all.

It doesn't bother me, though. [nosy or not, if it's what she wants, he will provide.] I come from Earth, ancient China to be precise. A world where magic flourishes and we, as ‘cultivators,’ use this to fight evil.

[stopstaring]

[They all sound like things she'd show him.

She eyes him thoughtfully, though it lasts for only a few breaths before she turns her attention back onto the snow.]

Shouldn't a mother spoil her children?

[Olivia couldn't possibly know the answer to that considering she's never had any other children before. Well. Not to her knowledge, though judging by Inigo's hair colour...

Well.]

Did you and your f-father get along well? [She just about chokes on the words because that's still a portion she's trying to wrap her head around. It's hard to picture herself married. It's almost easier to see herself as a single mother.

Not... that there's anything wrong with being married, of course.]

[stopstaring]

[She settles for holding her present to her somewhat protectively.]

I... Well. You're not really wrong...

[So why is it so hard for her to just accept that?]

I'm not really used to getting gifts. I don't think I've given very many gifts either. I do like to bake, though, so maybe those are like gifts.

[And considering she dances for morale, maybe her dancing could be considered a gift as well.]

[stopstaring]

If you already have the support of a smaller people, it wouldn't be very different with a larger group.

[She thumbs at her chin in thought before she continues.] It might take longer, though. Something I noticed from back home was that all it really took was being a good person. This g-group of people I travelled with... Seems like a lot of us came together because the leader was genuinely trying to do his best. We saw that. We wanted to help. I'm sure your people back home feel the same way.

[stopstaring]

Well—

[Heavens, what do they call that. Something like... necromancy. It makes her think, for just a moment, of the Risen. That's not necessarily what they were, but they were creatures that should have been dead and very much were not.

She frowns for just a tick and then tilts her head.]

Yes. I'm not personally familiar with magic like that, but I know it exists. It's not really something that... That is, I don't think people would be very happy if it were used so openly.

[Corruption and all of that. It gets dangerously close to trying to bypass whatever the rules and laws there are involving death.]

I'm not really a magic user. I've known some, though. But this... machinery where you come from... It's a bit like animated magic?

[stopstaring]

[He's very... understanding. It's a surprise, but a pleasant one, all things considered. He barely knows her and yet he doesn't really judge her in the slightest.

She retains that bashful, sheepish curl of the mouth and she shrugs rather nonchalantly.]

O-oh. I don't need a talent, really...

[Dancing. Baking. Simply being a good person. Olivia has a surprising arsenal of skills. She just doesn't consider them... much of anything.]

I've... never heard of your world before. But you're familiar with magic? [She lights right up at that.] I don't use magic myself, but the people I travelled with do! Some, anyway.

[constantvrunning]

[That, V does make a face for. Somehow, they can imagine what's likely on Olivia's mind here.]

I meant more in the vein of 'bringing things to life that aren't normally thought of as being alive', rest assured.

Not... things previously alive.

[Though if the occasional AI or synthetic that was uncovered in the ruins wasn't dead yet, they deserved to be restored too. Such went V's philosophy on the matter. And if they are dead: funerals.]

It's a reasonable comparison though, once given that. Both have specific rules and capabilities, and can be put to work to create tools or as a tool in themselves.

[10billionpercent]

According to the Mentalist, it would. There's a psychological limit to how many people you can get to go along with you without conflict.

[ He smiled a little bit, wistful because he was, admittedly a little homesick. ]

Yeah, there's a lot to consider at home, and I'm glad they support me. Sometimes they wonder if I am doing my best, but it usually pays off in the end. They now trust that I'm doing the right thing, but that took time.

[flatteries]

[ It's not something Inigo really knows the answer to either. He thinks Olivia spoiled him, and he likes that, only has fond memories of his childhood together with his mother, before everything suddenly got really, really bad.

But it is the standard? Should it be the standard? Maybe, since Inigo would prefer for everyone to grow up in such a loving environment as he did.

.. though then there's that other question.

Don't mind Inigo as he suddenly seems very intensely focusing on trying to form a big ball of snow here.. Trying to avoid looking at her? Pfft, obviously not! Clearly! He's very subtle! ]

Ah, well.. Father was often busy, so we didn't spend as much time together as I did with you. [ Hence why he's such a mother's boy, huh. ] And I..

[ It's like the words echo through his head all over again, from so soon after meeting his father again in the past.

Honestly, I'm disappointed. You have no idea what it means to be at war. ]

N-Nevermind. It's nothing.

[deferences]

[he tries to be! sizhui's always been quite the open-minded disciple, never truly seeing just black and white and understanding there is (and likely always will be) a gray area.

maybe she doesn't need a talent in her opinion, but he does wonder what she can do anyhow.] Perhaps not, though I'm willing to bet you're good at something.

[any one of those is good, especially the last one. there aren't a whole lot of completely genuine people.]

Understandable, and yes, I am. [seeing her brighten makes him do the same, a pleased smile curving his mouth as he inquires,] What kind of magic did they use? Oh, if it's okay to ask, why were you all traveling? [wasn't sizhui supposed to be talking about himself? guess he's failed there so far.]

[stopstaring]

Oh, you mean like... dolls?

[Because that's what it sounds like they mean. She seems to sink down with a segment of relief. Anything that reminds her of the Risen is likely not a good adventure in the slightest.]

I get it now. So what's the purpose in bringing these things to life? Is this for helping get things done? I can't imagine that animating them is really the same thing as them having personality or thoughts of their own...

[If they do, then wouldn't mean that essentially someone would be killing them by deactivating them?]

[stopstaring]

The Mentalist? Who's that?

[Sounds like someone with a... a lot of power? Influence, maybe? Maybe a writer. Hard to tell with such a brief mention.]

I don't think any leader has an easy time leading people and not being questioned by that. Back home, I travelled with a prince and a princess and I know they both worried from time to time if they were fit for their positions. It seemed difficult. Definitely made me never want to be a leader.

[stopstaring]

[Olivia, for all of her naivete, is observant. At the very least, she is that. The moment Inigo buries himself in his 'work,' which is less work and more... childlike fun, she can sense it. Enough that she finds herself pausing and watching him curiously. Imploring. Expectant. Curious. Perhaps overly inquisitive.

It's dangerous to start prodding for details on her future. And in the back of her mind, she knows that she can't be obsessed with the Olivia of the future. But it's always there. Who is she? What is she like? Inigo's presence here and now, doesn't that mean her future is already determined? Who she marries, what she does. It's...

There's a lack of freedom there, isn't there? But that isn't what this precise moment is about. She just easily falls into that trap.]

Hm...? [She asks him thoughtfully, knowing that he's keeping something to himself. She can't pry. She shouldn't, but he's bothered by it. At least in some way. She can't help what she asks next.] Was he unkind to you?

[Her head dips and she focuses back on the snow, not wanting him to feel how very intent her gaze can sometimes be.]

[stopstaring]

[Olivia nibbles on her lower lip, giving herself something to do that isn't refusing his kindness or his compliments. She is thankful not long after, the moment he asks about the magic and Ylisse in general.]

All different kinds, really. Elemental? Mages are common there, so they study arcane magic. And there's healing magic, too. So... clerics and priests.

[Her hands fold together thoughtfully before she continues and after some consideration, she quiets.]

Uhm. There was a war. Is. [Because the war is still going on, according to Olivia's knowledge.] So I was travelling with soldiers. Mercenaries. A prince and a princess. Their knights.

[constantvrunning]

`... It's a closer analogy.`

[Though perhaps more awkward. V busies themself with snow instead, building a ball before powdering it and making it drift down in patterns.]

`And yes, usually for that. Not all droids are built to develop personality, though some do whether they're designed to or not.`

[There were definitely ethical issues that came up along the way, however. Olivia is right to pick up on that.]

[10billionpercent]

Ah, Asagiri Gen. [ He smiles, all kinds of fondness. ] He's one of my generals and my right hand man so to speak.

[ She's not wrong, he is influential in his own way. ]

I didn't intend to be, that's just how things worked out. I don't mind it. It's good enough for now. Eventually someone else will take over the role, but it's working right now.

[flatteries]

M-Mother, what are you saying!

[ For all of Inigo's awkward avoidance from a moment ago, this reply comes pretty quickly. Mostly since he really doesn't want Olivia to get the wrong idea - certainly not because of him. What if she'll start to dread the future because of it? He can't do that, can't have caused that. It doesn't feel fair.

So he quickly looks back up at her - the look in his eyes desperate for a moment, until Inigo realises what he must look like, and then he quickly tries to shove it all to the back of his mind, trying to hide it behind a smile. ]

You can't imagine yourself marrying an unkind man, could you? It wouldn't be like you at all! [ After all, Olivia is the exact opposite of unkind. She's much too kind, much too caring. Like the sun itself, shining down warmth and kindness upon everyone around her.

So Inigo shakes his head. ]

Don't worry, that's not the case at all. [ And without skipping a beat, with the same smile still carefully plastered on his face, as if he can just wave the heaviness of what he says away by using a light tone and a smile-- ] I just.. I just don't think I'm even half the son anyone expected, that's all.